Birthday Blues
by Rosesdancinginmymind
Summary: Summary: It's Regina's birthday and she's used to no-one caring. This year she has Emma and Henry and she thinks that maybe this year she'll have a good birthday. However Emma and Henry forget too. Will Regina get the birthday she's been hoping for? (Full prompt from Regina fan at the bottom of the fic)


_Summary: It's Regina's birthday and she's used to no-one caring. This year she has Emma and Henry and she thinks that maybe this year she'll have a good birthday. However Emma and Henry forget too. Will Regina get the birthday she's been hoping for? (Full prompt from Regina fan at the bottom of the fic)_

_I don't own Once or its characters. Apologies for any mistakes. I hope you enjoy :) _

(Five Years Old)

Regina wakes up excitedly. She's been counting down to this day for weeks. Today she is five years old. On her few visits to the village she had heard from other children about birthdays. They told her about parties and their parents buying them presents and making the day all about them. Regina has dreamt about birthdays since she heard those stories.

She dreamed of her parents doing everything they can to make her happy today. She had imagined her mother coming away from her secret room and spending time with her. She wondered if maybe her mother would be nice today. She dreamed of presents and maybe a small party. Mostly she just wants to know her mother loves her.

She was hoping they could have a day together as family without punishments or magic or pain. She doesn't want much, just a cake and a few gifts and her parents. She just wants them to remember and have a real birthday.

Regina skips down the hall in search of her mother. She walks into her parent's bedroom and finds her mother at her vanity brushing her hair. "Good morning mother," she says politely though she can't keep the grin off of her face.

"What are you doing in here?" Cora asks tersely.

"It's my birthday," Regina announces happily. Surely her mother doesn't need a reminder? Regina wonders if her mother's cold stare is just a trick and that any minute now she'll smile and Regina will get the birthday she dreamed of.

She doesn't.

"So?" her mother asks.

"So it's my birthday," Regina repeats with a small frown. Other children told her about parents singing happy birthday and hugs. Why is her mother just giving her that angry look instead?

"Birthdays are a waste of time at your age," Cora tells her.

"So there's no party?"

"A party?! Really Regina? You are a princess and one day you will have a ball but not yet. You're far too foolish and impudent to be at a ball. Until you learn to be a proper princess there will be no balls."

Regina's face falls, "But it's my birthday."

"For god's sake Regina!" Cora snaps, "Just go back to your chamber and leave me be."

Regina runs back to her chamber in tears. For her fifth birthday she gets disappointment and the realisation that her birthday matters to no-one but her.

* * *

(Twenty Years Old)

It's her birthday but Regina is in no mood to celebrate. Except she has no choice. She never does anymore. Two years she ago she made a choice to run away with Daniel. He ended up dead and she was forced into a marriage playing stepmother to a teenager who betrayed her. She pushed her mother through a looking glass and thought she would have a choice. She was wrong.

Rumple pushed and prodded her into magic. She made the choice to learn magic because she thought it would mean freedom but it didn't. She's still trapped in this palace. She still has no choice over her life or what happens.

No-one cares about her birthday. No-one ever has. Her mother used it to throw fancy balls and show her off. It was never about making her happy or making her feel special. She didn't want a party.

The King wouldn't have known about her birthday had it not been for Snow White. She can't even remember telling the girl what date it was but she did and her stepdaughter blabbed to her father who insisted on throwing a ball. For a moment Regina wondered if maybe she was finally going to be noticed as her own person and if maybe for a night a ball would be about her, celebrating her.

It was stupid to be so foolish.

The ball of course was not about her. She sits alone at a table wrapped in a dress she didn't choose that was designed only to show her off as some fancy prize of the King's. No-one is paying attention to her at all. _Some birthday_ she thinks bitterly.

The King stands to make a speech and once again Regina wonders if this is the moment where one of her birthdays is about her.

"Thank you all for coming to celebrate this day," Leopold begins, "Today is truly a joyous occasion and we have my daughter Snow to thank for it. She, like her mother is a generous soul wanting to celebrate others and it is thanks to her that we have this ball. Snow, my darling daughter, you remind me more and more of your mother each day and you have put together a marvellous ball."

"Oh father you're going to make me blush," Snow replies with a small giggle as people watch on.

He smiles at her, "Well then I'll just say a quick toast, to my wonderful daughter Snow!"

The crowd joins in the toast as Regina sits at the table with a dejected frown. She wasn't even mentioned. It was all about Snow. It always is. For her twentieth birthday Regina gets a growing resentment and a reminder of her isolation in this dreadful life.

* * *

(Thirty Three Years Old)

Regina dismisses her guards and servants that morning. She refuses to do business today. It's a date that doesn't mean anything to anyone else but she's used to that by now. It's her birthday. She doesn't want to celebrate but she'd rather be alone.

She has no-one to celebrate with anyway.

As the years went by the King stopped throwing balls for her birthday. No-one noticed the absence of them.

She knows that now she is the great and feared evil queen she could throw a ball and people would come out of sheer terror of the repercussions of not coming. She doesn't want that. They might all see her as some cold heartless queen but she isn't. Her heart is still there and she doesn't want guests out of pity.

She wants to be happy. She wants people to celebrate with her because they want to. She doubts that will ever happen. Her mind is focussed mainly on vengeance these days anyway. Her goal in life is to try and rid herself of Snow White. What she loathes most about her former stepdaughter is that Snow is a reminder of everything she wanted but lost.

Snow has a Prince Charming and unlike Regina she gets to keep him. She gets to live a life with her true love and be happy. She has friends and people who support her. Even on the run she found people who could love her.

Regina has always been alone.

Her father is still around but he has never celebrated her birthday either. Regina doesn't want him to be here anyway. She knows he loves her but a part of her also resents him for never standing up for her, for never giving her a birthday. So she shuts him out too.

She spends the day drinking in her chamber. She doesn't indulge in this vice often but today she wants to forget. She wants to forget about all the bad birthdays and the loneliness. What Regina wants most is for this day to be over so she drinks and hopes for sleep. At least in her dreams she can have a good birthday one surrounded by imagined friends and family.

For her thirty-third birthday Regina gets despair and an overwhelming sense that her loneliness will never end.

* * *

(Thirty Six Years Old)

Regina wakes up with a smile. She hasn't done so on this date since she was five years old. This year though she believes she has a reason to smile. Her life has changed drastically in the past few years but definitely for the better. She cast her curse and it was broken. She thought that would be her return to loneliness and misery but she was wrong. There was Emma. With Emma she found hope and love. She began mending her relationship with Henry and she knows he loves her too.

For the first time in a long time she feels like celebrating. She finally has people with whom she wants to share a birthday and so this year she let her previous aversion to birthdays go and allowed herself to hope for a good day.

She opens her eyes and rolls over expecting to find Emma. She frowns when her hand hits empty space. Regina leans up on her hands and looks around the room only to find no-one there. Her frown deepens as she walks downstairs in search of her family. Regina enters the kitchen to find Emma and Henry eating breakfast together.

"Good morning," she says cheerfully as she kisses the top of Henry's head before leaning over to kiss Emma lovingly on the lips.

"Morning Mom," Henry replies before digging into his cereal.

"Hey honey," Emma says smiling at her girlfriend before she too returns to her breakfast as she scans over the morning paper.

Regina's face falls. _They forgot_. She can feel her heart aching in her chest as tears begin to blur her vision. "Excuse me," she mutters before exiting the kitchen and running up to her bedroom. She shuts the door behind her before collapsing onto the bed. Regina waits until she hears Emma and Henry leave before giving into her sobs. She truly thought she would be remembered this year and she curses herself for getting her hopes up. She should have known. _No-one ever cares_ she thinks sadly as she curls into herself and cries.

By the evening she has dragged herself downstairs. She's in no mood for company and when Emma calls she doesn't answer. No-one cares and so she'll spend today like she's spent every other birthday of her life. Alone.

The door flies open but she pays it no notice. Emma walks into the living room to find Regina staring off into space. "You didn't answer my phone calls."

"I wasn't in the mood to," Regina mutters.

"Why not?" Emma asks trying not to smile.

Regina sighs sadly before replying, "It's my birthday."

At that Emma sighs before gently pulling Regina up off the couch. "Come with me," Emma says as she leads Regina out to the bug. Regina scowls, "Leave me alone. I don't even know why I'm surprised. No-one ever cares," she says bitterly as Emma drives through town. She pulls up outside of the Diner but Regina doesn't budge. Emma frowns at her girlfriend's stubbornness before getting her out of the car and leading her to the steps. They walk inside.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY REGINA!"

Regina practically jumps at the shout before looking around the Diner wide-eyed. There's a banner reading _Happy Birthday Regina. _Everyone is gathered there and looking at her. Henry grins at her and shares a thumbs up with Emma for pulling off the surprise. There are presents. It's everything she ever wanted for a birthday. She turns to Emma with watery eyes, "For me?" she asks tentatively.

Emma nods, "Henry and I could never forget your birthday. We love you and we wanted to do something special. We spoke to Snow who told us that you never really got the chance to celebrate or have today about you. We pretended to forget but we never meant for you to get so upset. I could never forget you Regina. Happy Birthday."

Regina smiles brightly at her pulling her in for a loving kiss before hugging her tightly. She rests her head on Emma's shoulder as she gestures for Henry to join the hug. As he does she lets a few happy tears slip, "No-one's ever…..you gave me a birthday," she says overcome with joy.

She looks around at the people gathered in the Diner for her. "Thank you all for coming," she says cheerfully. She's used to being alone on her birthday but this is most definitely a welcome change. They're here for her.

At that moment Granny comes out bearing a cake and if possible Regina's smile grows wider. Granny sets it down in front of her. Henry grins up at her, "Make a wish Mom." Regina looks down at her son and to the love of her life. She looks at all the people watching and the party thrown just for her. This is all she ever wanted from a birthday – to feel loved and like someone else cared. She doesn't know what else to wish for.

So she leans over the cake and blows out the candles and wishes for many more good birthdays to come.

For her thirty-sixth birthday Regina gets love, care and the birthday she's always dreamed of.

* * *

_It's Regina's birthday and every year no one cares. But this year she's got Emma and her son Henry and she thinks she has someone to share it with but Emma and Henry act like they don't know and Regina is sad that no one cares but what she doesn't know is that Emma and Henry have done a surprise party at Granny's diner - Regina fan_

_Thank you for the prompt and thank you everyone else for reading :) _


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